Suz’s Beef Wellington
Ingredients
Puff-pastry (commercial or home-made. See Suz’s Puffy Pastry recipe on this site if you want to try making it yourself. This recipe below used 1/2 the puff pastry dough).
1 beef tenderloin portion approx. 6-8 ozs or 300-400 grams.
1 t thyme leaves
1 small onion
2-3 white mushrooms
1 clove garlic
2-3 T. olive oil
1/8 red wine
1 T Worcestershire sauce or balsamic vinegar (or both)
salt, pepper to taste
1 egg or egg white mixed with 1 T water
Instructions
Step 1: Salt and pepper the tenderloin with 1/2 t thyme. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Coarsely chop the onion, mushrooms and garlic. Saute in 1 T. olive oil over med heat until soft but not browned to remove excess moisture. Add red wine and WS and/or balsamic vinegar along with salt, pepper and 1/2 t thyme. Reduce heat to med-low to caramelize, stirring as needed so nothing sticks or burns in the pan. When ready (15-20 min) remove mixture from saute pan to cool to room temperature.
Step 3: In same saute pan used for the onion, add 1-2 T. olive oil and heat to med-high. Sear the tenderloin on all sides & edges (1-2 minutes per side). Remove from pan to cool slightly.
Step 4: Pre-heat oven to 400F. Have parchment lined baking sheet ready.
[*Hint: if you can roll the pastry dough directly onto the parchment paper, it will be much easier to transfer the finished wellington to the baking sheet.]
Step 5: Roll out a portion of puff-pastry approx 1/8 in thick, large enough to fold around the tenderloin. Brush the puff pastry lightly with some (not all) of the egg wash. Spread the onion/mushroom mixture over the middle of the puff pastry.
Step 6: Place the browned tenderloin *top side down* on top of the onion/mushroom mixture in the middle of the puff pastry. Place the remaining onion/mushroom mixture on & around the beef tenderloin. Wrap the pastry around the meat, pinching the edges to seal. Fold in the ends. Trim excess pastry if needed. Pinch edges to seal.
Step 7: Transfer the parchment paper with the wellington to the baking sheet (or carefully transfer the wellington to the parchment lined baking sheet). Cut decorative vents into the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Brush all sides & top with egg wash. Optional: sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.
Step 8: Bake at 400F for approx. 15-20 minutes for medium. Test internal temperature with meat thermometer to adjust time for rare or well-done. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to serving plate, slice carefully and enjoy!
This is wonderful (although quite rich) with a Bearnaise sauce or with a red-wine reduction.
Note: We found this one wellington was more than enough for two people and we still had a piece left over.